1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to specialized containers for secure storage of items that could not safely or conveniently be left in an open pickup bed. These specialized containers are specifically designed to not intrude into the primary cargo area of the pickup bed and to only occupy the space that is typically not useful for hauling cargo.
2. Background of the Invention
Until the nineteen fifties, the load space in a standard pickup truck bed was a rectangular box shape with flat sides, front, back, and bottom. The rear tires were outside of the bed and covered with fenders that were separate from the pickup cab. For the last four or five decades the pickup bed primary cargo area has been approximately four feet wide, eighteen inches deep, and eight feet long on long box models. Short box models are usually six and one half feet long, and with the tailgate opened in the horizontal position, they also held loads up to eight feet long. The four foot wide by eight foot long load space was adopted as the standard pickup bed size because four by eight feet is the standard size of plywood, drywall, and other building materials. These standard dimensions have caused many other items to be sized to fit in this space including garden tractors, all terrain vehicles, and the like. The top edges of the standard pickup bed were turned outward to form a flange called a bed rail to both strengthen them and provide a flat area to attach a canopy or tonneau cover, or to install stakes to increase side wall height for tall loads.
Pickups were originally designed and used as work vehicles. By the fifties, pickups became increasingly popular as second vehicles as they became used for recreation as well as work. As their uses broadened, owners began wanting their pickups to be more versatile and have more comfort and style. In the mid-fifties the first pickups with a full width bed were produced. In this design the side walls of the bed were moved outward to the full width of the pickup aligning with the sides of the pickup cab and extending continuously from the cab to the tailgate. The pickup bed ceased to be a simple box shape as parts of the interior extended out over the tires about one foot per side for a total width averaging approximately six feet at the widest point.
The fenders were now inside the pickup box and were called wheel wells. The pickup bed rails used to strengthen the tops of the box side walls and mount stakes, canopies, tonneau covers and the like, were now turned inward over the tops of the wheel wells. The four foot wide by eight foot long primary cargo area remained the same as on previous pickup box designs. The four foot width was now defined and limited by the insides of the wheel wells instead of the flat bed side walls on previous models.
The increased space inside the box that was as much as a foot per side was limited to the nooks and crannies on each side of the wheel wells and under the inwardly turned pickup bed rails. Since the added bed volume was irregularly shaped, usable load space was typically increased only for loose cargo such as dirt, sand, gravel, and the like.
With their evolution to becoming more comfortable and versatile vehicles, pickup trucks have become one of the most popular types of vehicles in North America. The two top selling vehicles of all types for more than a decade have been full size pickups, and their market share is still increasing. A large part of the appeal of these vehicles has been their ability to carry large objects and heavy loads in their beds. Compared to a standard automobile with an enclosed trunk, a serious drawback to these vehicles has always been their inability to carry smaller loose items such as tools and personal belongings in a hidden and secure place.
To solve the lack of hidden and secure storage space in pickups, several manufacturers have developed various storage boxes that fit inside the pickup bed. Currently, the most prevalent style is a storage box that sits on top of the pickup box rails across the front of the bed. These are commonly called cross body tool boxes. This design provides hidden and secure storage space, but since they typically measure about two feet from front to back, they reduce the total usable bed length by up to one fourth. These boxes usually do not extend all the way down to the bed floor at the center so a small space remains underneath for some long items, but taller stacks of building material, or other long cargo such as riding lawn mowers, couches, and the like no longer fit in the bed. A good portion of one of the primary purposes of a pickup truck, the ability to carry large cargo, is compromised.
The cross body tool box sits on top of the bed rails and has a raised top to provide additional storage space. This requires reaching higher than the bed rails for access to items near the sides of the pickup, and usually requires climbing up into the bed to reach items stored in the bottom of the storage box towards the center. The mounting location on top of the bed rails eliminates the possibility of installing a canopy, tonneau cover, stake sides, or the like.
A variation on the cross body tool box that can be used with a canopy, tonneau cover, or stake sides is the storage chest. It doesn't bolt on top of the rails, but sits on the bottom of the forward part of the bed. Like the cross body design, it also reduces usable pickup bed length and cargo space by a significant amount. Its location makes access to the storage space difficult or impossible without climbing up into the bed.
Side storage boxes are also available that fit forward or rearward of the pickup box wheel wells that don't reduce the usable length of the pickup box. They fit in the space just on either end of the wheel wells and extend partially over them. This limits their length and doesn't allow storage of long items such as shovels, skis, oars, fishing poles, and the like. They do not fit under the bed rails so they are limited in width to the distance between the inboard side of the wheel wells and inside edge of the bed rails.
Another type of side box that is available fits on top of the wheel wells and extends the length, or most of the length, of the bed. This allows storage of longer items, but is also limited in width to the distance between the insides of the wheel wells and the inside edge of the bed rails. They have flat bottoms and mount on top of the wheel wells making them quite shallow. To gain more depth these boxes usually extend above the sides of the rails. This makes access higher than the tops of the bed rails and eliminates the possibility of installing a canopy, tonneau cover, or the like. Most of the storage box designs described above require drilling holes in the vehicle's side rails or pickup bed and use bolts to attach securely. Drilling holes in the vehicle's sheet metal decreases its value and leaves bare metal edges that are prone to rust.
In the four decades since the introduction of the modern full body width pickup bed there has not been a storage box product available with capacity approximating that of a standard automobile trunk that provided full access to that storage capacity and did not compromise the approximately four foot wide by eight foot long and eighteen inch deep primary cargo area of a full size pickup bed.